


All For the Win

by Newrose12



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-10
Updated: 2012-05-10
Packaged: 2017-11-05 03:23:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/401917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newrose12/pseuds/Newrose12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crossover with canon! and modern!au, they live in and play for Camelot.  Arthur playing in the World Cup, he and Merlin had a fight before the game, he's not doing his best.  Things change for the better when Merlin shows up before the second half to apologize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All For the Win

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know much about the World Cup, so forgive me if I made any stupid mistakes. This was prompted on kinkme. Oh and a lot of fluffy cheese.

"What's with you?" a sweaty jersey hit Arthur Penn in the face as he sat on the bench in front of his locker, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He looked up to see his teammate, Lance Smith standing there, shirtless, an eyebrow cocked.

"Nothing," Arthur said, scowling and throwing the jersey back.

"Bullshit," another teammate, Val West said, sitting beside him, "you have been sucking it up out there, we're down 3-2 for god's sake."

"Oh, and it's my job to win this thing on my own?" Arthur said, glaring at the man next to him.

"No, of course not," Lance said, sitting on his other side, "you're the captain and our center and this is the World Cup, we need everyone's concentration out there."

"I am concentrated," Arthur snapped and both men snorted.

"Right, that's why you missed the last two goals," Val said and Arthur pushed him off of the bench and he landed hard, laughing.

"Is it Merlin?" Lance asked quietly when Val had pulled himself to his feet and walked away.

"Not everything is about him you know," Arthur snapped and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Well, I couldn't help but notice that he's not here," Lance said helpfully and the other man closed his eyes.

"We had a tiff, we'll be fine," Arthur said and stood, moving away from the other man's sympathetic gaze. Twenty minutes later, they were getting ready to leave the locker room and head to the field for the second half with Arthur at the front when he heard his name.

"Arthur!" a voice called and he turned, he knew that voice and quickly pushed through his teammates, ignoring their protests. When he broke away from the crowd, he found Merlin standing there wearing his jersey, the one he had worn at the final game of the semi-finals that put them in the World Cup.

"You're here," he said, coming to a stop in front of his boyfriend who rolled his eyes.

"Of course I'm here, I'm just a bit late, traffic and all," Merlin explained, smiling tentively at him. "I'm sorry," he said after a minute of them staring at each other, "I didn't mean what I said." Arthur continued to stare at him until the other man started to fidget before he surged forward and kissed him hard.

"I'm sorry too," he said, pulling back.

"Good, now stop sucking and get out there and win this," Merlin said, kissing him again before pushing on his chest.

"I don't suck," Arthur protested but kissed him again before turning, as he reached the door that led to the tunnel to the field, he turned back, "love you."

"Love you too, you tosser," Merlin said, grinning and Arthur returned it before following his teammates.

They did win, in the end it was a 4-3 score in favor of Camelot, Arthur scoring the winning goal in the last ten seconds of course. As his teammates rushed him and surrounded him, cheering and jumping up and down, the sky above them that had threatened rain all day, finally let loose, soaking them all in a matter of seconds. The fans rushed the field and surrounded them, camera crews and reporters intermingled. Arthur found himself hugged, kissed, patted on the back and groped more than he would have ever wanted to be. He looked through the masses for the one head of hair and ears that he would recognize anywhere and saw him standing near the edge of the crowd, smiling his way. He pushed his way outward, stopping for the occasional grope, kiss and hug as he went and finally found himself standing before Merlin.

"You did it," Merlin called over the sound of the rain and the roar of the crowd.

"We did it," he said and wanted to do nothing more than reach out and kiss his boyfriend in victory. They stared at each other for a long moment before he muttered a low 'screw it' and pulled Merlin to him kissing him soundly. They stayed like that for a good two minutes straight, not caring that everyone could see until Merlin pulled back.

"What are you doing?" he asked, grinning like a fool.

"Marry me," Arthur said in reply and Merlin's mouth dropped open in shock, his eyes going wide.

"What?" he asked, blinking, not sure that he had heard right.

"Marry me!" Arthur insisted, now grinning and thinking that this was the best idea ever, even though he was starting to lose the feeling in his limbs from the cold rain.

"Arthur, you're on an adreniline rush, you don't know what you are saying," Merlin protested.

"No, you were right, it's not fair to you that we're hiding this and I've been thinking about asking you to marry me for a while now."

"Arthur, no, that wasn't fair of me to accuse you of being ashamed of me," Merlin said, shaking his head.

"God, are we really going to fight about what we were fighting about?" Arthur asked and Merlin chuckled at the idea. "Marry me, if you'd rather, I can get down on one knee, I don't have the ring with me, it's at home," he said, starting to kneel.

"Arthur stop," Merlin pleaded, watching as more and more people turned towards them at the sight of the star of the football team kneeling before another man. "Stand up," he hissed, smiling awkwardly and waving at a few people.

"Not until you say yes," Arthur said, grinning up at him, "I'll stay here, in this rain, probably catching pnemonia until you do."

"And if I leave you here?" Merlin asked looking down at the other man.

"I'll stay and you'll feel guilty as I become part of the field, they'll have to mow around me, maybe one day I'll be seen as a statue, a testiment of my love for you." Merlin closed his eyes and shook his head. "So?" Arthur asked and he opened them to look down at him again and then the crowd that was growing larger, noting at least six camera's pointing at them.

"Yes, for the love of God, yes, just get up!" he cried and Arthur grinned before he stood and wrapped his arms around Merlin and swung him around, kissing him sloppily.

They skipped the victory party, they had made enough of a spectical of themselves Arthur reasoned and returned home where Arthur pulled out the ring he had mentioned. After they had showered and dressed in their sweats and old t-shirts, they sat in front of the telly, while opening the Chinese takeout they had ordered.

"Would you have really stayed there if I hadn't said yes?" Merlin asked, as they watched the local news, the video of Arthur kneeling before Merlin a hot topic.

"Forever if I had to," Arthur said, leaning over to kiss him.

Later that night, they were lying in bed, Merlin draped over Arthurs chest, his left hand resting on the other man's peck and he smiled at the simple silver band on his left ring finger.


End file.
